Anyone attending the Geneva Auto Show will get to see a concept version of the Toyota 86 convertible, pictured above in a sketch. Enjoy it as you sip your 7 Franc lattes. We’ll have live shots for you starting March 5th, once the show is on. Maybe it will be warm enough to put the top down on the MX-5 by then…

Exactly what I was thinking when I read this… I based much of why I bought my FR-S in December off the fact that there would not be a convertible version coming (TTAC and several other sites said it would only be a Euro/Asian car). I traded a Sky in for the FR-S, and it was a hard thing for me to do. True, a “back to basics sports car” is a hard top rigid design like my FR-S, but I would give up a tiny bit of that if they made a lean (no power/metal/serious weight gain top) convertible with a tiny back seat. The fact it is a Scion means that North America is being targeted…and that makes me question my recent purchase :/

I have this irrational fear that the FR-Zs are going to become their own brand and start to mutate the way Mini has. I’ll be very sad if they make a 4-door version and inconsolable if they make a CUV version.
Don’t laugh, people would have laughed at the idea of a Mini CUV. Or a 4-door Porsche for that matter.

I personally love a good convertible. Yes, you can argue about torsional stiffness and all that, but there’s nothing like smelling the river below you on a canyon carving drive. Opening a window just isn’t the same. I’ll sacrifice the .0000000000003 of a second difference in lap time to have that experience the other 99.999% I’m driving my car.

As for being a secretary’s car. Maybe, it’s low cost and fun. So is the Miata but then again the Miata has dominated SCCA for a long time too.

Only a little over a month before Derek can declare his anti-establishmentness (is that a word?) how the Miata is still superior to this model.

Although he most likely will be correct. I don’t see how they can add weight (and raise the center of gravity) with the existing package and make it very appealing. Unless they rid of the (useless besides car seats) rear seats for the mechanism. And the already small (but well designed and surprisingly utilitarian) trunk/boot.

I hope this doesn’t end up being another Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet–in other words, something that takes a competent and well-designed vehicle and turns it into a gutless fashion-statement with no purpose. I hope they’re aiming more for the Honda S2000 and Mazda MX-5 Miata crowd…

Wonder if they can keep it reasonably stiff. If so, chopping the top off is a nice way to route around one of the most common complaints against this car; road noise. The world needs more decent, non premium convertibles. Desperately.

I always wondered – aren’t T-tops more prone to leaking?
Also, wouldn’t a convertible be more flexible (i.e. you can put the top down and back up anywhere, anytime), whereas a targa, you have to store it in your garage before you head out (and God help you if it starts to rain while you’re out)?

Apparently 2nd gen F-Bodies and G-bodies with T-Tops were prone to leaking but 3rd and 4th gen were much better. Many others such as Fox body Mustangs (they dropped the T-Top option mid-cycle in the late 80’s) as well as Z-cars were quite solid and leak-free. I knew someone who had a Subaru Brat which had standard t-tops. The thing was rotted badly like most Brats at the end of it’s life, but the T-Tops were tight as new. As far as targas go, the final Pontiac Solstice coupe had a removable targa that was too large to fit in the rear area but on most Vettes they can fit in the rear.

It’s alot more then .0003 seconds laptime. A convertible can add 300 to 500lbs of weight. Throw in that with the lousy motor (low torque) they have in that car and combine it with the not state of the art (six speed) autobox that most will sell with – and you have a dog.